Bob W wrote:
Hi,
*no such thing as "British" spelling. There's American English, and
then English used by everybody else in the English speaking world.
"British spelling" implies the non-American version is the minority
version, where in fact the opposite is true.
And that's my pet rant, guys!
ERNR
Well said! Mine too, and thanks for saying it. It DID need saying.
I'm sorry, but there is such a thing as British spelling, and British
English, and British English is a minority variety (I think Indian English
has the most speakers).
There are also such things as Jamaican English, Australian English, Canadian
English, African American English, Scots English, Estuary English, ... I
could go on. Each of them has its own spelling varieties too.
As I said in my response to Graywolf, I was strictly referring to
SPELLING and to my knowledge are two standards of spelling in English.
Accents, slang, pronunciation and the use of different words for the
same object (e.g. lorry vs. truck) are not included in spelling.
By "spelling" I mean cheque vs. check, tire vs. tyre, and is there a "u"
in colour, honour, armour, etc., and where do you put the R in centre?
Anyway I can knock at least one example off your list. Standard English
spelling in Jamaica is the one that Americans refer to as "British"
spelling.
(The fact that neither major Jamaican newspaper seems to employ a copy
editor does not imply a different spelling standard.)
